Container



Aug. 14, 1956 H. w. JONES 2,758,733

CONTAINER Filed Sept. 2, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet l g4? no. 1 4;

i I N VENTOR Hdl rl W Jones 3 ATTORNEXS' H. W. JONES Aug. 14, 1956CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 2, 1953' INVENTOR I W Jones,mzmywzza. ATTORNEYS H. W. JONES Aug. 14, 1956 CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet3 Filed Sept. 2, 1953 INVENTOR HarrL W Jones BY Ctr/"1mm, Mm ATTORNEYS jUnited States Patent CONTAINER Harry W. Jones, Knoxville, Tenn.,assignor to Dempster Brothers, Incorporated, Knoxville, Tenn., acorporation of Tennessee Application September 2, 1953, Serial No.378,020

6 Claims. (Cl. 214-317) This invention relates to an improved containerof the type adapted to be elevated along an upright skid frame or thelike to a transporting and/ or dumping position.

By way of example, containers of the type to which the invention relatesare used in conjunction with transporting and dumping equipment such asillustrated by U. S. Patent No. 2,179,779, and although the invention isnot restricted to containers so used, this example will be referred tohereinafter for purposes of illustration. Such containers are elevatedby lifting hooks or the like that are attachable to and detachable fromsuitable means such as projecting pins located on each end wall of thecontainer approximately in the vertical center line thereof. During itselevation, movement of the container is guided and tilting and/oroverturning thereof are prevented by sliding engagement of one of thecontainer side walls with the skid frame. For transportation or storagepurposes, the skid frame is then moved forwardly on its support and theelevated container lowered to rest on the support, e. g., a vehiclechassis in the example under consideration. For dumping purposes, a baillocated at or near the top of said one side wall eventually reaches andengages and elevated suspension hook or its equivalent. Then thecontainer can be dumped by tilting it about the point of attachment ofthe bail thereto, or by allowing a drop-bottom to open.

Under normal conditions such containers can be handled as describedabove without any difliculty whatsoever, as attested by the widespreaduse of this type of equipment. In some cases, however, it is desirableor necessary for the bail wall of the container, i. e., that side wallof the container with which the bail is associated, to be of less thanthe normal height for which the elevating equipment is designed. Forexample, it may be necessary to stow the container under a low platformor other structure, or to provide a container of special shape adaptedto fit and cooperate with other devices. But reduction of the height ofthe bail and hail wall for such reasons can interfere seriously with thehandling of the container, as explained in greater detail hereinafter,and the chief object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcontainer of relatively low bail wall height for use under such specialconditions which can be handled by transporting and dumping equipment orlike elevating apparatus in the normal manner and without difficulty.

Another object is to provide such a container having a bail and bailwall of variable height so that it can be lowered to meet specialconditions such as mentioned above, or raised for cooperation with thetransporting and dumping equipment or other apparatus of the type inquestion.

One embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, but it is to be expressly understood that said drawings arefor purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as adefinition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to theappended claims for this purpose.

In the drawings,

Figs. 1 and 2 are side views illustrating transporting and dumpingequipment of the type shown in the aforesaid patent, in conjunction witha container of special shape such as to give rise to the problemsmentioned above;

Figs. 3 and 4 are side views illustrating the use of a containerembodying the present invention;

Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views, Fig. 5 being a section on the line 55 ofFig. 6, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view, of means embodying the presentinvention; and

Fig. 8 illustrates the use of said means in dumping the container.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the transporting and dumping equipmentshown for purposes of example is of the type disclosed and claimed inthe aforesaid Dempster Patent No. 2,179,779, but it will be understoodthat containers embodying the present invention may be used with variousother types of handling equipment, either transportable or stationary.In the form shown, a vehicle chassis is indicated generally at 1, beingmounted on suitable wheels including the rear wheels 2. A hoisting meansin the form of a boom 3 is mounted pivotally on the chassis at 4 and isadapted to lift the container hereinafter described by suitable meanssuch as chains 5 terminating in attaching members 6 of any suitabletype. The boom 3 may be elevated by any suitable means such as ahydraulic cylinder 7 pivotally mounted at 8 on the vehicle in knownmanner.

At the rear of the vehicle chassis is an apron 9 which provides lateralsupport for the container as it leaves the ground. Above the apron, thecontainer passes by one or more rollers 10 and then slides up aninclined frame or skidway 11. When it is desired to dump the container,it is elevated along the skidway until the bail of the container engagesa suitable automatic hook 12 as hereinafter described, said hook asshown being of the type disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,404,830. When itis desired to transport the container, the skid frame 11 is movedforwardly by means not shown from the position of Fig. 1 to that of Fig.2, after which the container is lowered to rest on an inclined support13.

The container shown in Fig. 1 is of the well known drop bottom type, butit will be understood that various other types of containers can behandled on the same transporting and hauling equipment and that theinvention is not restricted to drop-bottom containers. The container iselevated by means of lifting pins 1.4, one such pin being locatedapproximately centrally in each end wall of the closed container. Aswill be understood by those familiar with this art, the drop-bottom 15is provided with triangular wings 16 at each end and the lifting pins 14are located at the apices of these wings so that as the chains 5 andattaching members 6 elevate the container, they also hold thedrop-bottom 15 in closed position.

in the form of container chosen for illustration of the invention, aspecial shape is employed in which the upper right-hand portion of thecontainer (as seen in Figs. 1 and 2) is removed, leaving a beveled orinclined Wall 17, this shape being of advantage when such containers areemployed with street sweepers. It will be seen accordingly that the bail18, which is located in a recess at the top of the bail wall 19, issubstantially below the level of the top edge 20 of the container as awhole. in other cases the top edges 20 of the container may be loweredto the height of the bail wall 19.

Because of this special shape, difficulties are some times encounteredin handling such containers with transporting and dumping equipmentdesigned to handle containers of standard sizes and shapes. For example,when the said container rests on the ground (Fig. l), bail -33. and the,op edge. 9?. thehail wall 1?. are shhshhtiell belo iv the romaine; Asthe container begins its ascent, therefore, the top edge of'the bailwall 19 will sometimes catch underneath the rollers 10 wi heqhhthihs ilta shh rh h. hlh H 49. of movin h wa dl' h ts hail. wall 19 A Q. ,f 'iththe, s r frhh 1?! h. .hh ih h she-Wh rl F 2 s tha eh hhhtsrs. with suchcontainers As the container is lowered to or. lifted fr m the seaport 13t Esme! 91 g avi ma i 9- the right of the t le ins 4. a sin a chnta he oihi h t e ta ass i hail Wal 1 at. the'pdint where. it; engages. the sk'dfra the lower. corner of hhta hafs ihsi s 0 idly tat e si s In .041cases th s t l n he; hhhhh for the container to turn completely on itsside.

I ll he W1 that i h. t a d wri hi g Where t w l 1 is f he sa e h h hs hhe edges. 9; hi he i alls th st ine adhe e-his iqhhhihhhs e not occur. IFig, 1, for example, the top edge ofthe ba l wa 19 would then he at lb?when. 9 hen il hohta wa ll estin on thes p hd fl s i fl th he ght Q he Wl, 19 i ig- 21; hq h h s hat its; t p d wou d e ase thh sk df rhfi 7.at? h her Point, it is evident that the tendency of the container totilt would be substantially reduced, But pro t Il 91 5111? wall 19..above the height shownin Figs. 1 an 2 cannot be permitted under theassumed conditions of use, whereas the transporting and, haulingequipment or other elevating apparatus cannot be redesigned for suchspecial cases without adversely afiecting'its use under normalconditions. A

The ioregoing problems are solved by the present invention in which thewall 19 of the container, with which the bail is associated, is providedwith -r pper bail-carrying means mounted to swing about a horiz ontalaxis so, that it can be folded down to, the position of the incline 17or if desired further to approximately horizontal position. At the sametime means are. provided for locking said hail-carrying means in anupright position so that it extends above the top of the wall 19 and ineffect provides an upper corner for the container such as i would, hareif the corn w re sqhahed h i of being cut away along the incline 17,- Ifthe bail is of appropriate size and shape, it may itself serve as thetop edge of the container, sliding in contact with the skid f am 1 i whc s t e hai ee on y h ca r ed y a n in m QI h he- In the eas as whe e hek me mpris pace nri th ba la yh hhh m y al comp ise a pl t o t l,. Qmlil in eifect an upward extension of the bail wall 19 and being oc t d istantia y th same lan ther with- Figs. 58 inclusive show the detailsofone embodiment of the invention of the type last referred to above. Asection of the inclined wall 17 is removed to provide an o e in 21 h i ied Wa s ructu e n sfe a v being e h ed a y a an .2} fi l n e e and strap0 in any o e s ta e ha hhrsw h hb m unted in the opening 21 is a platesection 25 which can from the inclined position shown in Fig. 7 to thevertical position shown in Fig. 5. This swinging plate 25 carries asuitable bail 26 and is cut away beneath the bail to provide an opening27 that permits the operationof the hook 12 as hereinafter described. Inthe form shown, this bail-carrying plate is stitfened by transverselyextending angles 28, 29 preferably welded thereto and by parallel ribs30 along the edges of the o pening 27 and interconnected by a transverserib 31.

This whole structure ispivotallyniounted in the opening in any suitablemanner. As shown, the lower.-ends ofthe ribs 30 are forme t providc eyesthrough which pass suitable hinge pins 32, the pins also passing throughwa e ea 3 car ied y t a Any suitable meanscanbe provided for lockingtheswinging .baikcarrying assembly in the upright position thhdhhs foh theshown in Fig. 5, bearing in mind that said means rnust have s uflicientsiresg'artb witHs tandYHe reassessment service as above explainedfPreferably and in the form shown, the pan 22 carries a pair of cars 34having aligned openings to receive a pin 35 suitably connected by achain 36 with the pan 22 in order to prevent loss. When not in use, saidpin can if desired be stowed in a holder 37. An arm or strut 38 issuitably pivoted between a pair of cars 39 carried by the EH31 by rneansof a pivot bolt 49 When the swinging assembly is in its inclinedposition shown in Fig. 7, the pin 35 being removed, the strut 38 liesbetween and projects beyond the 551F534 as shown in is 7- Wh h h ss mblis swhh t9- hh hhh position of Fig. 5, however, the pin opening in theend of the strut is drawn into alignment with the pin open ings in theears 34 whereupon the pin 35 is inserted to hold the assembly rigidly inthe desired position.

Figs. 3, 4 and 8 illustrate, the operation of a container of the typeShow in Fig. 1 Whenfprovided 'wit'hthe. swinging bail carrying assemblydescribed aboye. shown in Fig. 3, the bail, 26 is at the height oftherol leis 10. when thecontainer. rests o i egrmmd; andthe plate 25forms an extension of the. contain bail'wall'lfi s5 that theconditionillustrated by 1 does not oeeur. Similarly in Fig. 4, theupwardly extending plate 25 bail 26 engage the skid frame at a'pointline iviith the top edge 20 of the container end walls d thus preventsoccurrence of the objectionable condition illustrated "by: Fig. 2. Atthe s ame time the bai 2 i position to' f i iqtion properlyfor dumping.the con a ner wh latter is moved upwardly to the position Shawn inE- g.Th r t 4 h h h ok 2 n ion ah y f ashed by a slotted shuttle plate 42,thelower outer ,corrir of which extends beyond the edge of the hookpoint 43 as disclosed in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,404,830. the bail 26slides upwardly relatige to the ,s d frame, therefore, it first engagesthe inclined outer .e of'tlie' book 43 and then engages the bottom edge.f nd' lifts the shuttle, plate 42, clearing the throat o e m 'go thatthe bail can settle in the 'bight 0f the has who container is loweredagain by the boom. Further lowerthe of h qo h h' s i Qna i h ld ih thm15' in well known manner. runner cl jof th' e boom causes the bail 26 tornoye upwardly. .ar oun the a fa e 44 Perm ttin the hh-t Bla .42 hi Ldr'h' hk to the position shownin Fig. 8. Upon lowering of boom, therefore,the bail passes downwardly along the outer edge of the shuttle plateand'elears hdok 43.

It will be understood, of eourse, that the invention is not restrictedto the details of constructionfsetforth above, nor to the examplesdescribed by yglo f example, and that various details can be ,made'arrangement o e Pa t i hah arhhs fish ts spirit. Accordingly referenceshould be had to {the ap; pended claims for a definition of the limitsof the inen hh- What is claimed is:

.1. A container of the type adapted .to be elevated .with a wall thereofin sliding engagement with an upright frame for lateral support andhaving a :bail associated with said wall and located near its topfor'engagement with an elevated suspension means, said wall having anupper bail-carrying means swinga ble about a horii on tal axis betweenupright and lowered positions, and means for securing said bail-carryingmeans in said upright position forming an upward extension of said wall,.s'aid bailcarrying means having a portion coextensive with the portionof said wall that engages said frame and said portions havingsimultaneous sliding engagement with said frame. 1 4 M 2. A containerasdefined in claim 1, said bail-carrying means comprising a plateforming an extension of said Wall when in said upright position, saidplate havingan 5 opening therein below the bail to receive saidsuspension means.

3. A container as defined in claim 1, said securing means including astrut member pivotally connected at its ends to the container body andto said bail-carrying means, at least one of said connections beingdetachable.

4. A container of the type adapted to be elevated with an approximatelyvertical wall thereof in sliding engagement with an upright frame forlateral support, said wall having an angular extension of its upperedge, bailcarrying means pivotally mounted on said container near thetop of said approximately vertical Wall and having a bail for engagementwith an elevated suspension means, said bail-carrying means beingswingable from an approximately vertical upright position to a loweredposition at substantially the same angle as said extension, and meansfor securing said bail-carrying means in said upright position formingan upward extension of said approximately vertical wall.

5. A container as defined in claim 4, said angular extension having anopening therein, said bail-carrying means including a plate ofsubstatially the same size and shape as said opening and subtsantiallyfilling said opening in said lowered position.

6. A container as defined in claim 4, said bailcarrying means includinga plate forming said upward extension of said bail wall when in uprightposition, said plate having an opening therein below the bail forreceiving said suspension means.

Dempster Mar. 14, 1939 Riemenschneider et al. July 13, 1948

